Books are a way to open many unexplored facets of the human mind. The worlds created by the beautiful tales of authors are plentiful. While some writers follow traditional routes of storytelling, such as going down the path of retelling Romeo and Juliet to fit a more modern narrative, others are venturing past normalcy to enthrall the reader with bizarreness. It can backfire, but if strangeness is handled well by the storyteller, it can keep the reader hooked, pushing them to read until the end. Humanity is naturally intrigued with unorthodox concepts and ideologies. Authors that can masterfully handle the unknown depths of the bizarre are able to uniquely tell a story and uniquely get their message across. In reality, normalcy is strange and strange is a part of life.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, follows exactly the path above of a bizarre, yet meaningful piece of literature that has the capability of making the reader want more. The underrated classic was first published in 1932, where about twenty years later, Huxley had to make a literary piece about his original work, in how close it came to predicting the future and the danger of those beliefs becoming a reality. Why do I say it is an underrated classic? Well, the book 1984 by George Orwell somewhat steals the spotlight of the novel. George Orwell is a dominating force in the arts of English, being one of the most recognizable names by those who have taken high school English courses. He is either known by people for 1984 or for Animal Farm. Both of which describe what would happen if the government became too powerful. While I do not mean to bash 1984, it, to me, is overhyped in comparison to others novels. Just because something is recognized as a “classic novel,” does not mean it is phenomenal. It could be a “me problem,” but some classics, like 1984, do not take enough risks. It, and many other classic, tend to hone in way too much on exposition and direct characterization. While these stories have amazing world-building elements to them, they lack much in the plot aspect of writing. Novels and other types of writing should tell a tale and let the reader go from there, to interpret and create their own reality the book lives in, while some classics do all of that for the reader. The enjoyment of reading comes from exploring the imaginative part of the mind, that some novels do not allow for.
Why is Brave New World so transformative then? Well, it came out during a time, predating several stories that would be published after, about criticizing an extreme involvement of the government. He digs into the dangers of allowing a larger world state, in which the government disguised it as a means to having stability and a richer community. Behind the backs of citizenry, that very same political group that promised the world to its people, censored the history of their past. Huxley also investigates and scrutinizes it in an odd way. He immediately dives headfirst into presenting the reader with test tube babies and eugenics, almost as soon as the story opens. The rest of the novel goes into intense detail about all the wrong that the main character has been conditioned to believe is okay. One component of this involves a group of poor people living in a village outside of the large, central city, that are observed, almost like a zoo. They are seen in the novel as rabid and absolutely crazy, but they were forced into that state by government, long before the point in which the novel begins. Huxley is willing to explore the bizarre to, quite literally, force the readers eyes, and consequently mind, open to see the potential reality that is to come. People are sick and if they are allowed to do devious and inhumane actions, they will continue to do it. Craziness works to engage people, because many only know a reality that seems far off from being real.
It is a book’s and author’s objective to make a reader reconsider and think more deeply about the ideologies and thoughts they have. Being strange and bizarre is an unconservative route of achieving that goal, but when done successfully leaves an impact. There was several times I had to put down the novel and put my head down. It actually hurt to explore and inquisitively think about what was going on in that novel, because, like the main character, some sadistic aspects of living in a developed country have been normalized to me. It still is the first novel that comes to mind that I’m haunted, in a good way, by, as it really left the floor open for me to debate issues with myself. Reading opens the mind, part of which can be the crazy in writing and storytelling that attracts readers. Do not fear the weird of stories, embrace it!
https://dontbanhuxley.weebly.com/the-books-importance.html
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2017/margaret-atwood-introduces-a-brand-new-world.html
https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/brave-new-world-prediction-novel
I completely agree that novels and reading are ways to analyze the world around us. In high school, I was exposed to a number of seemingly bizarre novels including 1984. Despite their outlandish worlds and somewhat incomprehensible purposes, I feel that my ability to criticize and analyze my experiences has come partially from those authors. I enjoyed your interesting take on the value of weirdness in novels!
I really enjoyed your writing style – it helped me to not only learn more about this book, but I also liked how you offered criticism of some other prominent novels (e.g. 1984) to help this novel stand out. I may have to give this one a read someday – the fact that it gets you to think and reflect on a variety of issues is a great way to learn and consider the world around you. Having that element of “strange and bizarre” can absolutely help make a read more compelling too, so I look forward to checking out this title!
I completely agree with your perspective. I think that older books can teach us so much about today, and even more than we can even say about today. Brave New World is an amazing read and I love Animal Farm too. I love the perspective these authors have on what society both is, and what it will be. It acts almost like a wake up call or a call to action on what we should change. Maybe it acts more of a reminder as where we should be. Are we too much like these futuristic worlds?
I’ve never heard a lot about “Brave New World,” but I’ll add it to my list of novels to read! Strangeness as a major focal point in literature can be a really useful tool, but it can also backfire. It all depends on the reader, I guess. Some books that I’ve picked up had tried that angle, but they just didn’t really speak to me, just like how you said “1984” didn’t live up to the hype for you. I don’t think it’s enough for a book to just be weird in order for it to be compelling–it also needs to tell an interesting story or connect with the reader in another way as well.